


Away When You Were Here

by SubwayWolf



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Finger Sucking, Implied Relationships, Light breathplay, M/M, Oral Fixation, Power Dynamics, Pre-Canon, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-08 23:26:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7777774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubwayWolf/pseuds/SubwayWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reyes wants his student back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Away When You Were Here

**Author's Note:**

> i guess you can read this as something shippy, or just McCree being an ass. or both! 
> 
> if you wanna get emo about reaper/mccree feelings, listen to "away when you were here" by ben folds :)
> 
> EDIT: this work has been translated into chinese by tumblr/ao3 user Yil!!!! check it out here: [x](http://whenshallwehavedinner.lofter.com/post/1d5b0d90_c29e07e).

Reyes knew before he walked into the room that asking Jesse McCree for help would not be a pleasant experience. Right off the bat, the way Jesse greeted him spoiled Gabriel’s already-fucked mood to a point beyond repair.

“Afternoon, Commander,” Jesse greeted, with a lazy half-salute and a cocksure grin.

 _I’m not your Commander, but I should have been._ The words stuck on Gabriel’s tongue like heavy wet concrete and went unsaid.

Asking for – no, _demanding_ help – was not appropriate until Reyes asserted dominance. He gestured to the fat black cigar hanging casually between Jesse’s smirking lips. “Get that shit out of your mouth when I’m talking to you,” he ordered.

McCree took the cigar between two fingers and removed it from his mouth. He blew the smoke away in a direction opposite from Reyes’ face – he knew better than to taunt a superior in that way, or maybe he just understood the consequences.

“When did you start up smoking?” Reyes asked, and he knew how stupid it sounded before he even asked it. It was a question that usually preceded a reprimanding. Now that he thought about it, nineteen-year-old Jesse McCree always had gum or a toothpick in his mouth, or he was biting his fingernails out of bad habit, so it wasn’t surprising that he’d taking up smoking. Besides, Gabe really wasn’t any authority on deterring someone from killing themselves.

Jesse gave him a look, like he was thinking of answers. Like he’s playing scenes in his head, film-like flashes behind his eyes of time in the south-west States, time in gangs, people he’s killed, criminals he’s run with and put bullets into. Maybe he doesn’t know the answer, he doesn’t know exactly when he started, or maybe he’s keeping it to himself. 

Reyes realized he doesn’t really care. He really shouldn’t be talking – he smoked, too, cigarettes, back in the day. He remembers standing in Gibraltar on the overlook deck and having a smoke. He remembers helping Jack light his when the wind picked up and he struggled catching flame on the lighter. He remembers the quiet alone time they spent up there, the mutual respect. It was nice, for how long it lasted. Of course, he hasn’t smoked since the end of the Overwatch program. Thinking back, it probably didn’t kill him any faster than his service did.

He snapped out of his daydream once he realized he was being stared at, and smiled at. Jesse has a grin on his face – he often does, or, more aptly, he _did_ \- he _used to_ , when Gabriel knew him, _really_ knew him. It was a long time ago, but the smile was still the same.

As usual, Reyes responded with a soured scowl. It worsened when Jesse laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Relax, Reyes.” McCree had a gruffer laugh now, a manly one. A stark contrast from the boy desperate to act grown, the one he had known so long ago. He was still smiling, but now he had the audacity to wink. “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, right?”

Gabe’s patience had left him remarkably fast. He decided to get to the point and get this over with. “I came here as a courtesy,” he explained. The next words were a struggle. He said them begrudgingly. “I need your help.”

Jesse took Gabriel’s hand. He lifted it up like he was going to kiss the back of it and admired the clawed gloves with half-lidded eyes. He parted his lips and the flat of his pink tongue emerged. He placed two fingers into his mouth and started to link and suckle, gentle, like a kitten. Gabe could only imagine they tasted like metal, like licking the back of a dime. And they were sharp. If his tongue pressed a little harder he would draw blood.

Reyes didn’t react to this because it was just Jesse’s attempt to tease, to get under Gabe’s skin – which he had already done, so right now he was just making a fool of himself. He was good with his tongue, but it was put to better use speaking and talking shit.

Which he did. Jesse lifted his head and smirked. “Quite some _talons_ you’ve got here, Reyes.”

Gabe lowered his brow. “Don’t be a smartass.” He snatched his hand away.

Jesse put the cigar back in his mouth, so when he smiled, it was crooked and awkward and made him look dumb. “I _am_ a smartass. It’s the essence of my whole damn being. It’s what I _do_.”

Gabriel had a clawed hand around Jesse’s neck before Jesse could say another word. “Then I’ll choke the habit out of you,” he growled, ready to force McCree to submit or quit or anything else - _anything_ else; Reyes really did have the power here.

Or so he thought. Jesse still had a fucking smile on his face. He reached a hand up and grabbed Reyes’ wrist but didn’t pull him away. His cheeks were flushing red, and his eyes were sparkling, too – a rare sight, given that they were usually hidden beneath the shadow of the brim of a hat.

And Reyes hated this. He hated being looked in the eye. He hated that Jesse was more than capable of getting himself out of a chokehold. Jesse had a gun and considerable strength and he knew self-defense – Reyes taught him these moves, taught him how to escape from situations exactly like this one. He hated most of all that Jesse was in no rush to escape or fight back, that he probably wanted this.

Reyes released him. He didn’t apologize. “So?” He impatiently waited for an answer.

Aside from a few coughs, Jesse did not say anything, and he did not fight back. He continued the talk as if nothing happened. “So,” he repeated, his voice coming out hoarse at first. “You need my help.”

“Correct,” Gabe answered, staring at the floor. _After all I’ve taught you, and after dying for you, you ought to repay me with this, in the least._ Gabriel wanted to say it but he didn’t. But Jesse knew that truth already. Gabe looked him in the eyes.

Unsurprisingly, Jesse was smiling again. “Boy, are you lucky Commander Morrison gave me a call before you showed up here.” Jesse snickered to himself, like this fact he’d been keeping to himself was a joke. “Because the way you sold this to me was god awful. If you were the only one sellin’, I wouldn’t be buyin’.”

Reyes froze in place. “Morrison?” The words came out whisper-soft. Reyes’ stomach twisted in him. Emotions like this really did make him feel alive.

Jesse shook off the dead ashes from the end of his cigar and smiled. “Seems we both have lots to catch up on.” He started to walk away. “I’ll meet you back at Gibraltar.”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts are wide open indefinitely, so check out my FAQ which includes a link to contact me, right on my [tumblr](http://subwaywolf.tumblr.com/fics).


End file.
